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Celebrating Blackfoot heritage

The Blackfoot Arts and Heritage Festival was held in Waterton Lakes National Park from Aug. 8 to Aug. 10. The three-day festival showcased Indigenous culture through events such as teepee raising, Blackfoot cuisine and a powwow.

The Blackfoot Canadian Cultural Society (BCCS) and Parks Canada have worked together to put on festivals such as this since Waterton Lakes National Park’s 100th anniversary in 2011.

“We keep doing it every year because we think it’s a great event for visitors to be able to partake,” said Christy Gustavison, Waterton Lakes’ visitor experience product development officer. “It’s a great opportunity to experience first-hand Blackfoot culture, which people may not have the opportunity to do otherwise.”

Blackfoot territory once spread through southern Alberta and Saskatchewan into northern parts of Montana. Gustavison said historical evidence of the Blackfoot people has been found in the area.

“There is archaeological evidence in Waterton that dates back over 10,000 years,” she explained. “All kinds of artifacts have been found in that time so we definitely know that it was traditional use and particularly by the Blackfoot people.”

The relationship between the Blackfoot peoples, Parks Canada and visitors of Waterton Lakes National Park is paramount, according to Gustavison. Educating about the historic territory of the land, Indigenous culture and Canadian colonial history are some of the methods taken to strengthen the relationship between Canada’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

“It’s an important relationship to have,” said Gustavison. “Particularly with reconciliation, it’s critical that we maintain a healthy relationship and provide opportunities to participate in the park and showcase culture through events like this.”

Local visitors and visitors from afar gathered at the Waterton community centre Tuesday afternoon to attend the Blackfoot festival’s powwow.

Spectators watched as the dancers made their way around the circle with the Grand Entry, with Treaty 7 princesses, dignitaries and RCMP officers leading the way.

After a headdress ceremony, an inter-tribal dance was held. Participants did not have to be in traditional regalia and all spectators were encouraged to join in the powwow dancing.

The inter-tribal dance ended and the powwow was underway. Tiny-tots, traditional, fancy, and the chicken and grass dances were among the many dances performed by the participants. Colourful outfits with bustles, traditional garments, jingle dresses and fringed shawls decorated the field as the dancers moved around the circle.

In addition to the powwow, a local documentary film was shown on Wednesday night. Elder in the Making was viewed by a few dozen people in a classroom of the Waterton Community Centre.

The award-winning film follows producer, director and Calgary-born Chris Hsiung and co-producer Cowboy Smithx from Piikani Nation as they dig into the history of the Blackfoot people.

Hsiung, a Chinese-Canadian, journeys across southern Alberta to try to understand the history of the land where he grew up, while Smithx tries to understand what it means to be an Elder, learning how he can better pass on valuable wisdom to future generations.

The two visit the Fort Macleod museum, attend a powwow and rodeo in Brocket and speak to archaeologists and biologists in the region to further gain information about Alberta’s southern settlement history.

Elder in the Making premiered at the Calgary International Film Festival in 2015. Since then, the film has won several awards and the creators have travelled as far as Montreal and Chile.

Last October, the film came back to southern Alberta, appearing at the Fox Theatre in Pincher Creek — a showing important to Smithx, a former Pincher Creek resident and Matthew Halton alumnus.

After the film, Smithx spoke about art and how it can be a powerful force in helping people understand the history of southern Alberta and move towards reconciliation.

“Artists are the ones who are going deep into the wounds of history, the deep impacts of intergenerational trauma,” he said. “You can’t do that in other circumstances. You don’t have the modalities.”